Thought 09DEC2008

CONDITIONED BY EXPERIENCE
According to an Associated Press report, a young boy panted and pawed for attention after he was rescued from a dirt-floored pen at his grandparent's home, where he was kept along with sixty dogs. He howled. He reared back on his haunches, tilted his head and looked up, said the boy's Department of Human Services foster parent. "He acted like a little dog," she testified at a child neglect trial. The grandparents said the boy's behaviour was natural for a four-year-old and he was imitating cartoon characters he saw on television.

The foster parents said the boy continued to behave strangely after he was brought to their home, including fetching toys with his mouth. He ran wildly through the house, crashing into walls and most of the time he ran on all fours. If he wanted attention, he would run up to them and paw at their bodies, rub his head on them and whimper.

This unbelievable account places testifiable significance on the importance of a child's experiences. The environment in which we dwell will have a significant influence on the behaviours we exhibit. Choose carefully who, where and what experience you want your life exposed to. The four-year-old had no choice. You do!
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

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There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second - Logan Pearsall Smith, Afterthoughts (1931) "Life and Human Nature"